According to research just released on Science Daily, ‘the brain was built for cooperative activity, whether it be dancing on a reality television show, constructing a skyscraper or working in an office, according to a study led by Johns Hopkins behavioral neuroscientist Eric Fortune and published in the November 4 issue of the journal Science.
‘”What we learned is that when it comes to the brain and cooperation, the whole is definitely greater than the sum of its parts,” said Fortune, of the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences at the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences. “We found that the brain of each individual participant prefers the combined activity over his or her own part.”’ (Read the full, fascinating article here)
We’ve known for years that we work better together. Now the scientists are confirming that we’re actually wired for cooperation – which begs the question, why aren’t we cooperating more?
BNI creates an ideal environment for inter-company, inter-person cooperation, but very few of us take full advantage of the benefits of working together beyond referrals, dances and ‘off the cuff’ advice.
Here are some ideas for closing the cooperation gap:
1. Form a hub of inter-connected Business Facebook Pages so that your broader networks are exposed to people in your BNI chapter (social media)
2. Conduct joint marketing efforts to combined databases i.e. a shared newsletter (cross marketing)
3. Post on each other’s blogs (content marketing and backlinks marketing)
4. Link to each other’s website (search engine optimisation)
5. Brainstorm joint ventures or joint sales drives, utilising each other’s strengths in various areas (joint project work)
6. Provide recommendations to each other’s LinkedIn pages, or testimonials for each other’s websites (influencer marketing)
7. When somebody in your chapter writes a press release or blog, share it with your network via your blog, LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter (content syndication)
8. Hold ‘master mind’ group meetings over a coffee or a wine to help each other grow or tackle difficult problems (mutual support)
9. Organise an event together (seminar, expo, business solutions clinic)
10. Share resources (marketing research, bulk buying of stationery, advertising, paper, ink etc)
Colin Kennedy is a keynote speaker, writer and content marketing consultant. As BNI New Zealand’s marketing director he is responsible for the organisation’s communications strategy, and also serves as an assistant director for North Central region of BNI.
